Regional Test Centers

Five Regional Test Centers (RTCs), established by the Department of Energy (DOE), are located in New Mexico,
Colorado, Florida, Nevada, and Vermont to demonstrate the bankability of new photovoltaic
(PV) technologies.

The DOE Regional Test Centers help to validate PV technologies in a range of different
climates. Pictured here is the New Mexico RTC for testing in a hot, dry climate.

The RTCs validate new solar technologies and systems configurations, demonstrating
performance and reliability under field conditions over time. Managed by Sandia National
Laboratories and the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL), the goal is to demonstrate
how a technology performs in a particular climate by:

Verifying that output power can be predicted accurately,

Quantifying system performance stability, and

Identifying climate-specific performance and reliability factors.

In turn, the performance analysis provided by the national laboratories supports the
bankability of emerging technologies—thus helping to draw the investment dollars needed
to bring innovation to the marketplace.